Long and short legs, scoliosis and pelvic tilt are the “labels” often given by “experts” to people with low back pain, and those who are labeled often feel anxious. As a result, some people spend a lot of money on treatment without any results. Please refer to a news article in Apple Daily in May 2009: “A fake doctor cures long and short legs and earns millions per month. Last Friday, I received a call from a listener asking about his long and short feet and pelvic distortion. I was surprised to find that the medical profession has a different definition of long and short feet from that of folk remedies, which has left people at a loss as to what to do, and some even listen to experts’ advice to add several centimeters of pads to the soles of their feet (shoe insoles) indiscriminately, often in cases where the pads should not be padded, and the more they are padded, the worse it gets.
Long and short feet can actually be divided into two categories: structural (real leg length inequality) and functional. As in the above Apple Daily news, the doctor interviewed refers to “structural short and long feet”. This is the “true leg length discrepancy”. Structural shortness of foot is often due to a fracture of the lower leg or thigh bone that has healed and reduced in length. In some special cases, there is also asymmetrical growth of the lower limbs during growth. Fortunately, these cases are very rare.
During the physical examination, doctors often use a ruler to measure from a fixed point of the bone to another point in order to measure the true length of the leg.
As shown in the figure below, comparing the distance from the anterior superior iliac spine to the medial ankle of each leg will tell you if there is a true leg length discrepancy.
The true leg length inequality may come from the following diagrams, left: calf length inequality. and on the right: unequal thigh bone length.
See this news story from 2010/1/15: Modern Civilization Disease Long and Short Legs . In the film, the doctor uses an x-ray machine or a ruler to measure the patient to confirm whether the patient has structural long and short legs (true unequal leg length). And the news video says that 30% of people have long and short feet, not “structural long and short feet” (please note that the news is often alarmist), refers to another kind of long and short feet, the same; the film doctors use visual inspection of the ankle to determine the long and short feet, said all the “functional long and short feet”, also known as “the appearance of the leg length is not equal”, general chiropractic, folk medicine is talking about this kind, yes! Many people do, and 30% is a conservative statement.
Now let’s explore the long and short legs of most people – functional long and short legs.
The test method is as follows: after measuring and confirming that it is not “true leg length inequality”, the doctor can measure from the navel to the inner ankle, and the unequal distance means “the appearance of leg length inequality” as follows.
Especially when the true leg length measurement is equal
The following figure: Although the external leg lengths are not equal, the true leg lengths are equal.
Apparent leg length inequality is due to combined pelvic tilt
Some specialists may tell patients that the short legs are caused by “scoliosis” or “pelvic tilt”, but this is also true, meaning that you only have “unequal leg lengths” and not “unequal leg lengths”.
As for the appearance of why the legs are unequal in length, why?
I. Imbalance of muscle tension around the hip, lumbar spine and pelvis.
If one side of the pelvis is pulled up or the spine is side-bent, the center of gravity of our body will be unbalanced. Take the unbalanced tension of the lumbaris major muscle on the left and right sides as an example, the tightening of the lumbaris major muscle on one side will make the pelvis on that side tilt, and then the spine will be side-bent, and the pelvis will be one high and one low. Muscle imbalance is very complex, only one side of the psoas major muscle tightening (on the left and right sides of the pelvis) as an example.
The following is a diagram of the psoas major first, followed by a diagram of the pelvis tilt.
Second, the imbalance of the muscles around the hip makes the femoral neck tilt excessively forward or backward.
Since the rotor of the thigh bone is embedded in the hip joint at an angle of 135 degrees instead of being embedded in the joint straight like a stick, the femoral neck tilting forward or backward abnormally will cause the pelvis to be high or low, which is the main theory of Japanese E Valley Therapy. The following diagram shows the tilt angle of the femoral neck, and the right side is a diagram of the long and short feet and scoliosis of the spine in Egu therapy.
Third, asymmetrical foot problems.
For example, if one foot has a normal arch and the other foot is flat foot or high arch foot, then the foundation is not correct, which will easily lead to long and short feet. The human body itself is a whole that will balance itself, and the scoliosis of the spine or the skew of the pelvis is sometimes to balance the obstacle or defect of a part of the body. The foot is a place to be concerned about. The following diagram illustrates an unbalanced arch in both feet (left foot – flat, right foot – high arch foot).
Note to editors.
This is an excerpt from a popular science article from the University of Southern Medical University Rehabilitation Institute. The article details what long and short legs are, and in some cases, it is very obvious through physical examination that the two legs are not equal in length, and if the difference needs to be accurately measured, a full-length image of both lower extremities needs to be taken.
Most of the problems of long and short legs are functional. Although it is not true that the legs are not equal in length, the phenomenon that the legs are different from each other means that the pelvis is skewed, the spine is scoliosis, and the body is unevenly stressed. Over time, in addition to lower back problems, hip joints, knees, etc. will also be seriously affected, and back pain is inevitable. If you find any problems in this area, please consult a doctor promptly.